On November 13, Assistant VP HR & Planning, Nourah Bamalli, gave students of IT and Computing an insight into the functions of HR in Project Management.

The students are registered in CIE 321 (IT Project Management).

In recruiting workers for an institution, Mr. Bamalli said it is important to identify candidates that will sustain, not stifle, the organization. He advised that every initiative that the institution embarks upon must work towards a win-win outcome.

Explaining the main role of a human resources department in an organization, he said it caters for the welfare of employees and sets the balance between management and employees, adding that the department aims to recruit the best-fit employees to manage the organization.

Mr. Bamalli recognized knowledge, skill, and attitude as the basis of recruitment and explained that while knowledge and skill can easily be assessed, human attitude, or soft skills, remains the greatest challenge of HR practitioners.

Discussing the evolution of human resources, he said the concept evolved after the industrial revolution, where HR started to become a strategic partner in organizational effectiveness, at the time skills and competition became the differentiating factor for the success of businesses. “And to keep competitive employees, the right incentive and retention must prevail, to ensure higher production and profitability.”

He advised the students to develop their soft skills, including professionalism, communication, and teamwork, in addition to their hard skills, which are the academic majors they are studying in the University: “In the end, the soft skills will be your competitive advantage in your careers that will give you the opportunity to excel in other professions not yet imagined in your life.”

Assistant Professor of ICT and Chair Telecommunications & Wireless Technologies, Dr. Abubakar Sadiq Hussaini, recognized the role of human resources as the backbone of any organization. He reminded the students that the essence of inviting Mr. Bamalli to share insights was to bring practical skills to them to prepare them for project management. “As future project development managers, you need to understand how to manage people, an essential skill for success.”